Story Structure

Most popular posts

A woman looks at floor plans with two people looking over her shoulder to suggest visual similarity to plot development

Plot Development: 3 Main Elements

Good plot development doesn’t rush or drag. It doesn’t stumble or take detours, nor does it feel contrived. A good...

A woman yawns at her desk to suggest that passive voice misuse makes her very sleepy

Passive Voice Misuse

You may have heard the conventional wisdom that passive voice misuse means it should be stricken from your writing entirely....

A sign says please do not use quotation marks for emphasis to humorously suggest that quoting poems correctly is quite important

How to Quote a Poem 

Writers often quote a poem within their own work. This can help to set the tone, build deeper thematic connections,...

An image of a woman smiling while scrolling on her phone with a coffee in hand suggesting austerity, enjoyment, peace from looking at writing memes

Writing Memes: Why Writers Love Sharing Them (And What They Secretly Teach Us)

If you spend enough time with writers on social media, you’ll soon learn one thing — we enjoy writing memes....

A woman touches a broken reflection, sultry, to suggest the character vs. self conflict in visual form

Character vs. Self Conflict

Character vs. Self is the conflict that strips all else away. There’s no central villain, no evil plot, no natural...

A woman directs a cameraman with a screenplay in hand to suggest that a writer can shine in a different format — What is a screenplay?

What is a Screenplay?

A screenplay is a script specifically written for film, TV, video games, or any other visual medium. It is not...

Character Transformation
Blog
Alan Watt

Transformation

Story is the most powerful way we have to express ideas. We can actually see the journey that a human being takes

Read More »
Home
Memoir
Alan Watt

Finding Home

“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The dilemma is

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Setting Up the Argument
Blog
Alan Watt

Story is an Argument

(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story is the

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What Does it Mean?
Blog
Alan Watt

What Does it Mean?

Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point where we

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Recent posts

hook

What is a Hook in Storytelling?

Try to recall your favorite story. How did it begin? What were the first words? If the first lines of...

plot

The Art of Plot: Structure That Serves Your Characters

What is a story without a plot? Not much! A plot is the sequence of events that helps give a...

Hero's Journey

The Hero’s Journey: A Structure Template

It’s a tale as old as time. The protagonist is torn from their ordinary life and sets off to face...

Resolution - Freytag's Pyramid

How to Write an Effective Resolution

All stories must eventually come to a conclusion, or “resolution.” As an author, your job is to ensure that the...

Exposition

Exposition: “Where should my story begin?”

For some writers, just getting the story started is the toughest part. There’s so much you want to say, but...

Theme

Unlock Your Story’s Theme: Crafting Stories That Matter

Theme is a way of making a series of events which are personal to the protagonist universally relatable to a...

rising action

What is Rising Action? How to Elevate Your Plot

Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...

Inciting Incident

What is an Inciting Incident? The Story Moment That Changes Everything

With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....

Falling Action

Falling Action: The Bridge Between Climax and Resolution

What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...

Climax

How to Write a Compelling Climax

The climax. This is the moment your reader has been waiting for. They’ve spent hours immersed in your story, falling...

Story - A Journey of Self-Discovery

Story: A Journey of Self-Discovery

Story is always a journey of self-discovery “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Embarking on a creative...

Exploring the Dilemma

Exploring the Dilemma

At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist...

Character Transformation

Transformation

Story is the most powerful way we have to express ideas. We can actually see the journey that a human...

The Imperative for Dramatic Conflict

The Imperative for Dramatic Conflict

A director told me once that if you put two actors together in a scene without directing them or staging...

Home

Finding Home

“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The...

Setting Up the Argument

Story is an Argument

(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story...

What Does it Mean?

What Does it Mean?

Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point...

Exploring Your Protagonist's Dilemma

Exploring Your Protagonist’s Dilemma

(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for...